brēowanthorpe

The Homestead of Beer

Traditional Mead

By thomas #Dry Mead, #Homebrew, #Honey, #Lemon, #Lemon juice, #Mead, #Traditional Mead, #Water, #Westfort, #Yeast

Codename : Westfort New Years Mead 2024

Building on the success, and lessons learned on the fly, of my first mead, I have been reviewing other recipes, checking out videos of other enthusiasts, culminating in this recipe, which is simply to add a little acid in the way of lemon juice to impart some flavour, and alter the mouthfeel.

Ingredients

  • 2 Lbs Honey
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 3 L of filtered, spring or distilled water (chlorine in home water is truly bad for mead)
  • 10 ml Mangrove Jack M05 mead yeast.
  • Yeast energiser (follow fermentation directions)

Vital Stats

BJCP Style : Traditional Mead
Anticipated ABV : 11%
Original SG : 1.085
Target SG : 1.000 (this is the goal, to get almost 100% fermentation)
Brewhouse (in)efficiency : 85%

Brew Day

  • Prepare 3L strike water at about 80F, this is to simply aid the honey to dissolve more effectively.
  • Add lemon juice, this is an optional ingredient. The addition helps add some additional flavour.
  • Add the honey to the pot, allow it to dissolve and incorporate, it took about 10 minutes.
  • Stir regularly.
  • Calibrate the sonic screwdriver.
  • Sanitise everything required for fermentation.
  • Allow it to cool to room temp.
  • Prepare the yeast mixture.
  • Pitch the yeast to the carboy.
  • Transfer the honey water to the carboy, splash it around to aerate the contents.
  • Be sure to scrape out the honey that may stick to the pot.
  • Add 1/4 tsp of yeast energiser to the carboy.
  • Put the airlock on the carboy.
  • Store in a cool dark place for primary fermentation for 14-28 days, consider this day 0. 

Fermenting

  • On day 2 of fermentation, add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser).
  • On day 4 of fermentation, add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser).
  • On day 6 of fermentation add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser)
  • Occasionally monitor the mead for meagre fermentation/bubbling late in the fermentation process, along with sediment build up on the bottom of the carboy.
  • On day 28, transfer the mead to a clean/sterile carboy. Crush in 1/2 Campden tablet. The day count is a guideline, rack it once everything is settled and clear.
  • After an additional 28 days, you can bottle your mead.

Bottling Day

  • Detailed instructions.
  • Keeping it traditional, no additional sugars will be added for carbonation.
  • Bottle condition at least 4 weeks, longer is better!

Brew Notes

  • The 3 L of water, plus the honey filled the carboy to about 4.25 L.
Ferment the mead in the carboy until the sediment settles out, and the contents are clear.

Brew day : 5-Jan-2024